Dow Jones Media Trials Blockchain With Brave Browser

Dow Jones Media Group has partnered with the privacy-oriented browser startup Brave to experiment with a blockchain content delivery system, the companies announced Wednesday.

The partners said they will test content delivery using Brave’s blockchain-based platform for digital advertising, on which Dow Jones Media group subsidiaries Barron’s and MarketWatch will also become “verified publishers.” The partnership will also furnish selected Brave users – of which there are approximately 2 million – with access to Barron’s and MarketWatch premium content, according to a press release.

“Our new model reconnects users and publishers without compromising privacy,” Brendan Eich, CEO and co-founder of Brave, said in the statement. “We look forward to our users enjoying Barron’s and MarketWatch premium newsletters.”

Launched in 2015, Brave’s browser blocks ads and activity trackers, while also allowing users to contribute microdonations in BAT to their preferred publishers. It concluded its $35 million ICO last spring.

The company also revealed last year that it planned to integrate the aforementioned blockchain-based digital advertising platform, which measures user attention and rewards publishers proportionately. Brave has not yet launched the platform.

Daniel Bernard, senior vice president of Barron’s commented in the statement:

“As global digital publishers, we believe it is important to continually explore new and emerging technologies that can be used to build quality customer experiences.”

Brave’s partnership with Dow Jones Media Group marks a significant departure from its early reception by media companies. In 2016, 17 members of the Newspaper Association of America sent a cease-and-desist letter to the company, arguing that its browser was illegal.

The Washington Post, the Guardian and Vice are among the publishers who now accept BAT.

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